Coal Valley mine
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The Coal Valley mine is located in West Central Alberta south of the Town of Edson and is owned by Westmoreland Mining Holdings LLC.
Contents
Location
The satellite photo below shows the area of the mine near Edson, Alberta, Canada.
Background
The area has a long history of mining and the Coal Valley Mine was opened in 1978 to supply coal to Ontario Hydro and for overseas export. The mine was owned by Sherritt International Corporation from 2001 to 2013. In 2017, Sherritt pleaded guilty in the Provincial Court of Alberta to three counts of contravening the Canadian Fisheries Act as a result of spills that took place in 2011 and 2012. Sherritt was sentenced to pay $1,050,000.[1] In 2013, Westmoreland Mining LLC purchased Sherritt's coal operations in Alberta and Saskatchewan.[2]
Annual production of the mine has been 3.0 million tonnes, and the plant has capacity to operate at 4.0 million tonnes per year.[3] Westmoreland Coal Company became a privately held company on March 15, 2019, and has not publicly reported the 2018 Coal Valley mine production data.[4]
Proposed Expansion
Coal Valley Resources Inc. proposed expanding its Coal Valley Mine in the Coal Branch area of Alberta. The Robb Trend coal mine expansion project, located near the community of Robb, would be approximately 50 km in length and would include portions of the Pembina River, Embarras River and the Erith River. On July 6, 2012, the Minister of the Environment designated this project and the screening-type environmental assessment to continue under the former Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. On May 15, 2015, the Minister of the Environment terminated the environmental assessment process of the designated project at the request of the proponent.[5] The reserve estimate for the project area is about 177.5 million tonnes of raw coal.[6]
Project Details
- Owner: Coal Valley Resources Inc.
- Parent company: Westmoreland Mining Holdings LLC
- Location: Edson, Alberta, Canada
- GPS coordinates: 53.0518755,-116.7982727 (approximate)
- Mine status: Operating
- Start year: 1978
- Mineable reserves: 10.7 million tons[4]
- Coal type:
- Mine size: 20,660 ha
- Mine type: Surface
- Production: 3 million tons per year
- Additional proposed production:
- Equipment: truck/shovel and dragline pits
- Number of employees: 438
Project Expansion Details
- Status: Cancelled
- Production Capacity:
- Mine expansion size:
- Start Year:
- Source of Financing:
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ Alberta Coal mine fined $1 million for Fisheries Act Violations, HazMat Management, October 15, 2017.
- ↑ Westmoreland Announces Transformational Acquisition of Sherritt’s Coal Operations, Westmoreland Mining LLC, DECEMBER 24, 2013.
- ↑ Westmoreland Mining Holdings LLC Coal Valley Mine, Westmoreland Mining LLC, accessed October 2019.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Coal valley mine, Mining Data Solutions, accessed October 2019.
- ↑ Robb Trend Coal Mine Expansion Project, Government of Canada website, accessed October 2019.
- ↑ Environmental Assessment - Coal Valley Resources Inc. Robb Trend Project - EIA Report and application for approval, Alberta Government website, updated April 1, 2014.
